Two dead in shooting at Texas air force base: sheriff

Two people were killed Friday in a shooting on an air force base in Texas, authorities said, in what US media said appeared to be a murder-suicide.

Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rosanne Hughes confirmed to AFP that two people at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio were killed, without offering details about the circumstances of the incident.

Hughes added that the situation -- which sparked a temporary lockdown at the facility -- was now under control.

The Air Force Times, citing initial internal Pentagon communications, said an airman shot the commanding officer of a training squadron, before apparently turning the gun on himself.

Other US media cited local law enforcement as saying it was a murder-suicide.

Schools and daycare centers in the area were also placed on lockdown, according to a Facebook post from Joint Base San Antonio, which includes Lackland as well as other military bases in the area.

The deadliest shooting at a US military base took place in Fort Hood, Texas in 2009, when army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others before being overpowered by police.